Archives for Kennesaw Skatepark

As everyone knows, June 21st is National Go Skateboarding Day. We at Ambush wanted to make sure that this day gets the proper recognition it deserves. And, we wanted to give all skateboarders a day of enjoyment. So, the Ambush crew headed up to Kennesaw Skatepark. Video game booths, misting stations, pizza, and the RedBull MTX truck were just some of the things providing the entertainment that day. Prizes were given out for best tricks and random skateboard trivia questions that were answered. Well, I don’t wanna bore everyone with words, so here is a little montage that recapped the whole day! If you missed it this year well we look forward to seeing you next year!

Over the past year or so, there has been a ton of talk and social media promotion using the phrase and the hashtag “Low Atl”. But, it seems that not too much is known about what exactly Low Atl is or means. I have had a number of people come up to me with a lot of the same questions. “What does “Low Atl” mean?” “Is that a brand?” “Isn’t that the same as Lowcard Magazine?”

In translation, the term “Low Atl” means family. To be “Low” means to be down. We are a family of people who truly love skateboarding and who come together for one common passion. I say “we” because we are all considered “Low Atl”. Even if you aren’t from or living in Atlanta. It is a family of skateboarders. We have all started somewhere, and no matter how good you are or are not, there will always be people who will have your back if you are legit. Your legitimacy in skateboarding can be defined in infinitely many ways based off of everyone’s individual standards, but to me your legitimacy is defined by your passion. We all had to be shown the ropes at some point. You can’t learn everything all on your own. But, rest assured that if you always stick with something you are truly passionate about, then you will learn as much as you can on your own. The rest comes from listening to the ones who have been doing it longer than you. They have the most experience and have shown dedication to the art. Even in skateboarding, your elders deserve respect.

The true origin of “Low Atl” can be an ambiguous topic in that people aren’t too sure of how it started. “Low Atl” actually came from a colaboratory effort between Lowcard Magazine and Atlanta’s very own Stormy Pruett (@Seaboard) and Jeremiah Babb (@Benderbabby). Stormy had contacted the people at Lowcard to see about having an issue of the mag focused solely on the Atlanta scene. Lowcard, being as down for skateboarding as they are, agreed to it. The mag was filled with interviews as well as sick photos of all the Atlanta rippers. The photo credit primarily goes to local photographer David Morico (@last_of_the_morichans). Without him, there would not have been any photos to send. It was Issue #46 “The Atlanta Article”. The release of an article of that caliber of course calls for a party, right? Well, in order to track the event on social media, the people who came to the party were told to hashtag the words “LowAtl”. This became the true start of the “LowAtl” movement and, to me, it was the the return of Atlanta to the skateboarding scene. People like Stormy and Miah gave this area its start. They were the first generation and they made a lot of history. Well, now its our time to step up to the plate. It’s time for us to go spot searching and street skating. No more of this all day at the park garbage. Get out there and go big. Try to make something happen. A skatepark is like a canvas that has been painted on over and over and over again. How good does it make you feel to three flip down the same stairs that someone else three flips every day? As far as consistency, a skatepark is convenient. You can’t get hassled at a skatepark (even that isn’t always the case). There is nothing original about a skatepark. It is a just way to trick skaters to stay out of the streets. And it works too.

This Saturday just so happens to be “Go Skateboarding Day” which is an internationally acknowledged holiday. And, we at Ambush are going to be hosting an event at the Kennesaw Skatepark. I encourage as many of you as possible to come, but only as a start to the day. Come out, have fun, participate in the best trick contests, listen to the Dirty Squids, chill with homies, and maybe get some free product if you’re lucky. Then go hit the streets!!! So many street spots are still left to be discovered here in Georgia. And not just in the city, but in the suburban areas too. Some complain that all the spots are so spread out that nobody wants to spend the gas money to find them. I get it, every spot outside of downtown is at least twenty minutes away from one another. But so what? Why should we let that stop us? We shouldn’t and we cannot continue to let it! Take the time, scrape some money together, throw in for gas, and put in the effort because the results are so indescribably worth it. Being out with your friends searching for untapped resources. Trying to get the best angles and the lighting just right. Documenting the trick, the style, and the personality of the skater coming out through that spot. And then being able to watch that clip all together with your buddies and just feeding off of the energy that it generates. It is something that you can’t quite describe. It is something you have to feel for yourself. So, go out there and find out what that feeling is to you. Pick up your board, call up your friends, and go skate! Because, at the end of the day, the streets are where it matters the most. Adapting to urban environments is the heart of skateboarding and the true nature of a skateboarder. And, this new generation needs to help us return skateboarding to the streets the way Stormy and Miah did. Then, we need to keep it that way.

We all look out for each other. We all stand side by side. This is what we love. This is our passion. This is our fun. This is our freedom. This is our community. One Community. Low Atl.

Have you ever been to a skateboard contest hosted by Adidas and The Boardr? I hadn’t either until last weekend. If you ever get the chance, I would advise you to go. The Adidas Skate Copa Southeast Regional contest was held at the Kennesaw skatepark on Saturday, May 31st. Skate Copa is a regional shop versus shop contest, where a four man team from each of the 17 invited shops get a 5 minute jam style run to showcase their bag of tricks in front of a panel of 3 judges. The shops team members are scored individually, and the top 3 scores from the team are factored in to the shops overall score. From there, the top 8 shops move on to the semi-finals where they battle head to head in a single elimination bracket format. The winning shop gets an all expense paid trip to Los Angeles for the Skate Copa finals, where they will battle it out against the other 4 regional champions at The Berrics.

We could not have been more stoked to be invited to join in on the fun and get a chance to skate with and against some of the best skateboarders in the whole southeast. We chose Zeke, Travis, CatNip and Josh to represent us and hopefully bring home the bacon. With forecasts calling for rain that Saturday, the original start time of the contest being 12 noon was bumped up to 10:30 in the morning. Much to our dismay, we were selected to skate the first heat starting promptly at 10:30. No complaints though, because we do have a home field advantage being that the Kennesaw skatepark is right in our backyard. Nevertheless, the boys all showed up on time and ready to rip. Master of ceremonies and OG east coast ripper Tim O’Connor kicked it all off and kept the day rolling smoothly.

Our first jam at 10:30 was awesome. I have never seen those losers skate a contest so well. Josh came in swingin’ skating the big rail, CatNip was switch 360 flippin’ all over the place, Zeke was on fire as usual and Travis was soothing the eyes with style for days. 5 minutes of carnage later and we had just set the bar for the other 16 teams who had yet to go. Zeke even managed to do a front crook nollie flip out first try in the heat, which he has only done one other time in his whole life. The crowd was officially awake now and Tim O’Connor had plenty of hilarious jokes ready for Zeke, calling him “the incredible flesh toothpick” and other accurately assessed adjectives.

After all 17 shops had taken their qualifying runs, Ambush sat in 3rd place. This meant we were moving on to the semi finals and we were stoked. Once in the semi-finals, it became an endurance battle. The temperature was high and there was no shade in sight. The water was flowing, but it wasn’t enough to keep the exhaustion away. The better you skated the more you advanced, and the more you advanced the more you had to skate without getting a whole lot of breaks in between. Fatigue was setting in for every team and it showed in everyone’s skating. The teams that made it to the top two spots, Skatepark of Tampa and PLUS skateshop, were maniacs and were able to keep skating under such harsh conditions.

Our dudes skated hard and killed it all day, but the sun and its heat had worn them down. We ended the day in 4th place. 4th place out of 17 of the best shops in the southeast isn’t half bad if you ask me. The day went on though. It was a close call, but ultimately it was Skatepark Of Tampa that took the crown. A major shoutout is owed to PLUS Skateshop and Hazard County for ripping the entire day and keeping us on our toes.

To top off an amazing day of skating, Adidas was giving away shoes like candy. Everyone had three stripes on by the end of the day. After the contest everyone headed to a free pizza and free beer after party that was just what the doctor ordered after a long day in the sun. This was a time for everyone who competed to hang out under the brotherly umbrella of skateboarding and all its awesomeness. Our bellies were full, our ability to operate motor vehicles had been impaired and Adidas Skate Copa was officially a wrap. A MAJOR thank you is in store for all the guys at Adidas and all the homies from The Boardr for making a kickass event. Cheers!

The first thing I noticed when I slipped my foot into the Marana Vulc is the fact that they run a little big. I wear a size 9 (US) in most shoes, and this 9 is a tad bit big. I’d probably be better off with an 8.5. The heel hold is snug and there is a very prominent arch support. From the heel heading towards the toe, the shoe opens up to be pretty wide leaving plenty of space for your toes to stretch out. The collar and tongue are made of a breathable mesh providing some much needed airflow. All in all, it is a pretty comfortable shoe. This shoe is built to endure the harshest abuse you can give it. Due to their tank like construction, the break-in process may take a bit longer than expected. The STI Evolution foam footbed provides good support for impact and everyday wear. The vulcanized version of this shoe is definitely more appealing aesthetically than its cupsole counterpart. The cupsole interpretation has a bigger logo on the side and kind of reminds me of some crappy Etnies mall shoe, but it’s vulcanized brother has a more subtle skateboarder-friendly vibe.

Etnies Marana Vulc

Front View

Back View

Insole

Sole

Side View

Rubberized toe cap for durability

inverted stitching around the side panel to prevent blow-outs

great arch support

highly ventilated tongue and collar for breath-ability

vulcanized sole

fits half size bigger

wide toe box

After Five Hours

The first flick in the Marana Vulc is a big reminder that vulcanized shoes have superior grip compared to cupsole shoes. The sole is tall and the toe cap is rubberized, leaving very little room for ripping around the toe. Due to the bulky sole and rubberized toe cap, the break in process was a little slow. Once those kickflips become familiar again, everything comes together nicely. Like most vulcanized shoes, the first hour or so can be frustrating. It would take many hours of flip ins and flip outs to put a hurting on this shoe. If you lean more towards heelflips rather than kickflips, you’ll run into some ripping issues sooner. Your heels and arches are protected well, but my main area for concern is with the padding around the ball of your foot. Having less support in this region provides added board feel, but at the cost of protecting the ball of your foot.

This past Saturday we hosted the very first contest, called March Radness, over at the new Kennesaw Skatepark. We had no clue what to expect. We were just hoping for the best and biggest to turn out. I must say it was everything we were wanting and more! People of all age groups were there. Dads competing. Girls competing. Young and old bucks blasting huge airs. Moms and grandmas watching. And, the Vans Tour bus with Tony Alva rolled through. It was great. Doing raffles throughout the day to keep families entertained. Multiple photographers and videographers covering the event. We really couldn’t ask for much more. After that, it was all up to the skating for the rest of the action, which I was able to get plenty of photos of for you guys to check out. Huge thanks to all the sponsors and people that helped make this contest bad ass!

In my opinion, there is only one thing to do on a perfect weather day. That is go skate. Cool, blue skies, a light breeze and fresh Georgia air got me out of the house real quick. I rounded up a couple of the Ambush boys Wes and Zeke as well as the good homies Dakota Plumley and Brenden Lagna. We all met up at the new Kennesaw Skatepark to start a sweet day of shredding. We put in a solid 5 hours of non stop skating. Here is a little montage to show what we got!

What’s up everyone? Ambush is proud to announce that it will be hosting the first contest at the new Kennesaw Skatepark called March Radness. No mushy flat ground game of skate. This is REAL street/pool style skateboarding for your eyes to see. This is your chance to show Ambush what you got and show the City of Kennesaw why it was such a good idea building this park. Don’t wanna compete? It’s free to watch and come hang out with the Ambush crew. There will be tons of talented locals putting on a awesome show! Big thanks to all the sponsors that help contribute to making this contest happen!

Check out the trailer to see just a glimpse of the action that will be going down!

Street Contest Info:
-64 skaters max. Register in advance at Ambush Board Co.
-Jam session format for prelims and semifinals. Four skaters per jam. Jams are 4 minutes in length. Top skater moves on to the next round.
-Individual skate for finals. Each finalist will get two 1-minute runs (alternating between skaters).

Pool Jam Info:
-32 skaters max. Register in advance at Ambush Board Co.
-Prelims and semifinals feature four skaters per jam. Each skater gets two 45-second runs (alternating between skaters). Top skater moves on to the next round.
-Finals pits top two skaters going head to head for 10 minutes (alternating between skaters).

The guys from VOX recently came into town to stack footage for a new web series on Network A. Check out the fruits of your labor in the form of this ATL-based web edit. Kennesaw got a lot of shine. Huge shouts to VOX and everyone for coming out.

ABOUT US

Ambush Board Co. is a universally recognized global leader in Board Sports retail. Founded in 1997 in Kennesaw, Georgia, Ambush is owned and operated by a core group of devoted skaters, wakeboarders, and snowboarders who are deeply invested in the Board Sports community, and has evolved by staying true to their essential principles of Service, Knowledge, Integrity, Commitment, and Passion. Ambush always has been and always will be unyielding in their collective efforts to push the progression of Board Sports retail.